Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Chemed (NYSE:CHE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Chemed Trading Down 2.3 %

Chemed stock opened at $560.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $623.29 and a 200 day moving average of $590.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed has a 12-month low of $492.84 and a 12-month high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41). Chemed had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 12.36%. The business had revenue of $589.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.18 million. On average, analysts predict that Chemed will post 21.99 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,190. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 534,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,584,000 after purchasing an additional 17,487 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 386,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 4.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 311,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,726,000 after purchasing an additional 12,608 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 9.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,355,000 after purchasing an additional 24,161 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 228,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,513,000 after purchasing an additional 4,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation provides hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers primarily in the United States. The company operates in VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. It offers plumbing, drain cleaning, excavation, water restoration, and other related services to residential and commercial customers through company-owned branches, independent contractors, and franchisees.